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Water is life. It’s vital. It supports the immense diversity of life on Earth. It’s a source of food, health and energy.

Fresh water makes civilization possible.​

But fresh water, in turn, isn’t possible without a healthy planet — and human actions are putting a healthy planet at risk.

Why is fresh water important?

Energy to Fuel Growth

If you’re reading this on an electronic device, water made it possible. That’s because energy extraction and production requires the use of water. It’s the driver for hydropower, the cooling mechanism for power plants and the reason biofuels can grow. Water powers our lives.

Food We Eat

A huge amount of humanity’s available fresh water — 70% of it — is used for agriculture. What’s more, freshwater fish and other species are an important part of many people’s diets. The lesson is simple. Without water, we’d starve — and so would the fish.

Joy and Inspiration

Fresh water helps renew us — culturally, spiritually, physically. We swim in it, we catch its fish, we gaze admiringly at its wildlife and we place it at the center of some of our most ancient spiritual rituals. Anyone who’s ever woken up early to fish or splashed through a waterfall knows: Water can make us happy.

Water We Drink

The average person can go for three weeks without food, but only three days without water. Yet less than 1% of the fresh water on Earth is readily accessible for human use. We have to use what we have responsibly. And we must protect the natural places, like forests and wetlands, that store, filter and supply clean water for everyone on the planet.

EditText:Climate ChangeAs our climate changes, so does our planet’s supply and flow of fresh water. According to one estimate, as the Mediterranean region and southern Africa face reduced rainfall, 1 billion people who live in these already dry regions will face increased water scarcity.

EditText:DeforestationForests are nature’s “water factories” — capturing, storing, purifying and gradually releasing clean water to towns and cities located downstream. More than one-third of the world’s largest cities obtain a significant portion of their drinking water directly from forested protected areas.

EditText:Limits to water suppliesAs the global population grows, so does demand for fresh water. Many water systems around the world are currently overtaxed, and some have already collapsed. According to one estimate, by 2030 our planet’s need for water will outstrip its reliable supply by 40%.

EditText:PollutionPollution from human activities, especially agriculture, washes into streams, lakes, estuaries and oceans. Already, nearly 60% of U.S. lakes are too polluted for fishing and swimming — and lakes such as Lake Erie have massive dead zones that put commercial activity like fishing at risk.

CI’s solutions

We need a global transformation of the way the world manages fresh water. CI is working to make that happen. We work to protect the places around the world that people rely on most for drinking water, agriculture and other uses. Our projects start with sound science and offer innovative solutions that can serve as models for conservation anywhere on Earth. Given the critical link between nature and human health, we work to break down the barriers that exist between conservation and health organizations, and we encourage leaders to consider the value of nature in the decisions they make, especially about dams and other large-scale development projects. By doing so, we’re promoting clean water for all.

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EditCaption Description:CI is working to improve collaboration between health, development and conservation professionals. With the help of our partners, we are producing tools to design, coordinate and implement projects with benefits for people and nature alike.

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EditCaption Description:The Sovi Basin is Fiji’s largest remaining undisturbed lowland forest, providing fresh water to tens of thousands of people. But in recent years, it has been under threat from logging and agricultural land conversion.

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EditCaption Description:The Freshwater Health Index will provide a process for measuring the overall condition of freshwater ecosystems — and their capacity to support healthy, economically sustainable human populations.